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In Memory of Larry Jon Wilson

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“There's a hole in the sky now where God used to be,” sings Larry Jon Wilson on the song Heartland, featured on his self-titled 2009 album.

Editorial


The album's release was a sort of unassuming comeback for the Georgia-based singer-songwriter, who broke a quarter-century absence from recording to cut some sparse sessions limited to vocals, acoustic guitar, and the later addition of stirring violin. Tragically, it will remain Wilson's final album, as he passed away Monday, June 21 after suffering a stroke. He was aged 69. For long-time fans as well as newfound adherents and generations yet to discover him, Wilson's passing is a staggering blow.

Prior to his 2009 album - released by the iconic U.S. indie label Drag City - Wilson had released just four studio albums, all in the second half of the 1970s, and all sadly out of print at the moment. You can glean some mp3s from that era thanks to the reverent fan site www.larry-jon-wilson.com - a partial glimpse at a unique presence.

Alternately solemn and playful, Wilson had a huge voice and could floor you with his choice of words. He was associated with both outlaw country (1975's New Beginnings) and country soul (1977's Loose Change), but the self-taught guitarist and natural storyteller was very much his own man, never beholden to the trappings of genre or fads.

If you're unfamiliar with Wilson's work, the 2009 Drag City album is a crystal-clear distillation of his greatness. Ranging from the gorgeous lament Goodbye Eyes to the unflinching Losers Trilogy, it's the parting document from a songwriter who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Leonard Cohen and Kris Kristofferson.

To paraphrase the man himself: There's a hole in the world now where Larry Jon Wilson used to be.

Doug Wallen, July 2010

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